Khayamiya
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Khayamiya ( arz, خيّامية ) is a decorative Egyptian art
appliqué Appliqué is ornamental needlework in which pieces or patches of fabric in different shapes and patterns are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern. It is commonly used as decoration, especially on garments. The technique ...
textile, that dates back to as far as Ancient Egypt. They are now primarily made in
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, along what is known as the Street of the Tentmakers (''Shari'a al-Khayamiyya'', or ''
Suq A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, such as in the W ...
al-Khayamiyya'') centered in the Qasaba of Radwan Bey, a historic covered market built in the 17th century. The street is located immediately south of bawabet el metwali, and is located along the historic economic axis of Cairo, in a section within Muizz street.


Description

Khayamiya are elaborately patterned and colourful appliqués applied to the interior of tents, serving a dual function of shelter and ornament. They resemble
quilt A quilt is a multi-layered textile, traditionally composed of two or more layers of fabric or fiber. Commonly three layers are used with a filler material. These layers traditionally include a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding, a ...
s, and possess the three layers typical of quilts – a heavy "back", a background "top", and elaborate appliqué over the "top". Functionally, they can be compared to
curtain A curtain is a piece of cloth or other material intended to block or obscure light, air drafts, or (in the case of a shower curtain), water. A curtain is also the movable screen or drape in a theatre that separates the stage from the auditorium ...
s, though their recent roles have diversified to cater for touristic purposes. These now include cushion covers, fashion, bags, bedspreads, and other applications.


Design

Khayamiya feature hand-stitched
cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
appliqué over a heavy cotton back. This back is intended to be protective and durable against a hot, dry, and dusty climate. The hand-stitching is performed quickly by skilled tentmakers while seated cross-legged, using needles and thread. Small pieces of fabric are cut to size as they are required using large scissors. Khayamiya are usually completed by a single tentmaker regardless of the size of the piece. These can range from basic cushion covers to intricate whole-wall hangings several metres across. Large projects can subsequently take several months to complete. The tentmakers are very protective of their creative innovations, as successful new designs are often copied by their competitive neighbours. Popular design motifs include geometric and curvilinear arabesque patterns derived from Islamic ornaments, and scenes inspired by Pharaonic art, especially
papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...
and lotus motifs.
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ian folkloric subjects such as
Goha ''Goha'' is a 1958 French-Tunisian film. It starred Omar Sharif and it was the cinema debut of Claudia Cardinale. At the 1958 Cannes Film Festival it was awarded with the Jury Prize and it had been nominated for the Palme d'Or. It was shown as pa ...
, Nubian musicians, and the whirling dervishes are popular touristic
souvenirs A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...
, as are stylised depictions of fish and birds. Calligraphic patterns, based upon texts from the
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
, are often shaped into objects and animals. Khedival panels made in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century typically feature larger blocks of appliqué and wider stitching, though touristic and contemporary khayamiya feature finer and more elaborate handwork.


Terminology

The correct spelling is in Arabic, but English approximations of this term are diverse, including , , , , , , and . The Arabic word (), meaning "tent", is linked to the Persian (), which means "tentmaker". Popular alternative descriptions in English include the "work of the Tentmakers of Cairo", "tentmaker appliqué" or simply "Egyptian appliqué". Medhat Adel Emam has discussed the origin of the term as it applies to distinctly Egyptian Arabic with Turkish influences. Very large decorated khayamiya "pavilions" are known as .


Historic khayamiya

Historic specimens of khayamiya are rare. They were originally made to be placed outside in dry heat and dust, and were regarded as replaceable – hence not highly valued for collection or preservation. Khedival examples are held in the collection of several museums, including the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. There are also references to khayamiya in photographic records and European orientalist paintings from the nineteenth century and earlier. Literary references to their use, including illustrations, can be seen in medieval manuscripts. There is archaeological evidence to suggest that textiles comparable to khayamiya have been created and used in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
since the Pharaonic era. Despite their historic legacy, the tentmaker occupation is now endangered. This is largely due to competition from imported mass-printed fabrics bearing similar decorative patterns. These printed sheets are now widely used across Egypt as temporary screens for special events, notably during Ramadan, festivals, weddings, and funerals, in place of the original handmade khayamiya. The majority of khayamiya created in recent years are marketed to tourists visiting Egypt. In the 2000s, the first international exhibitions of Egyptian khayamiya were held in Australia, the UK, France, and the USA. These were curated by Jenny Bowker, an Australian quiltmaker and teacher.


Khayamiya in contemporary art

The Egyptian artist Moataz Nasr features khayamiya-inspired aspects in his contemporary mixed-media artwork. Susan Hefuna's installation "I Love Egypt!" (featured in the 18th Biennale of Sydney in 2012) also applies Khayamiya within the context of contemporary installation art. From 2009, the Egyptian artist Hani el-Masri collaborated with the Tentmakers to produce a interpretation of the
One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
. The Algerian artist Rachid Koraïchi has also collaborated with the Tentmakers of Cairo to create large calligraphic banners, such as hi
Invisible Masters
series. As Koraïchi stated in 2011: :"When we talk about an Islamic craft tradition, we're not talking about the art of the 19th century that took place in an artist's studio and on canvas. Here we're talking about things that come out of everyday life... It's not a world in which the artist lives apart." :The culture of the artisan – still present, but steadily disappearing in the streets of Koraichi's native Algeria and surrounding Maghreb countries – offers an insight into how art can be drawn directly from a day-to-day world, yet heightened by the dedication of craft. "If you look at the foundations of western art," Koraichi continued, "it was based on a whole tradition of craft that went into churches; the goblets made by metalworkers and the marbling. It's exactly the same with mosques, in that they were built by those who could work with stone and weaving. These are sources that we can clearly see but the question we have is how to take those disappearing traditions and make them present again in the living moment."


Map to the Street of the Tentmakers


This link
will direct you to a Google Map detailing the location of the Street of the Tentmakers, relative to the popular tourist landmarks of the Khan el-Khalili. The Tentmaker's Street is not known for the hard-sell hassles associated with touristic shopping in the
Khan el-Khalili Khan el-Khalili ( ar, خان الخليلي) is a famous bazaar and souq (or ''souk'') in the historic center of Cairo, Egypt. Established as a center of trade in the Mamluk era and named for one of its several historic caravanserais, the b ...
.


Styles

There are four main forms of Khayamiya: Khedival, Touristic, Street, and Contemporary. * Khedival khayamiya were made between 1867 and 1914. These are usually large appliqued panels in indigo, red, and white on beige canvas, often featuring vertical blue stripes in the canvas itself. * Touristic khayamiya were made from the 1890s through to the present day, and were notably popular after the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. These are often smaller, and are figurative appliques, usually featuring motifs from ancient Egypt or what were then contemporary scenes of Egyptian life, especially folkloric scenes. They were generally purchased by international travelers to Egypt as popular Egyptian souvenirs. *
Street A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...
khayamiya include panels made for outdoor use within Egypt, such as suradeq pavilions or backdrops for public events. These are large scale "architectural" textiles. In the 20th century the average size of a panel was . Many panels were tied together on a wooden structure to form a fabric pavilion. *
Contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...
khayamiya are appliqué panels made for indoor use. Contemporary khaymiya can be divided into the following sub-genres: *
Arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...
khayamiya, consisting of elaborate interlinked patterns. This genre dominates this contemporary art form. *Folkloric khayamiya, such as the legends of
Goha ''Goha'' is a 1958 French-Tunisian film. It starred Omar Sharif and it was the cinema debut of Claudia Cardinale. At the 1958 Cannes Film Festival it was awarded with the Jury Prize and it had been nominated for the Palme d'Or. It was shown as pa ...
. * Orientalist khayamiya, such as street scenes based on
prints In molecular biology, the PRINTS database is a collection of so-called "fingerprints": it provides both a detailed annotation resource for protein families, and a diagnostic tool for newly determined sequences. A fingerprint is a group of conserve ...
by
David Roberts David or Dave Roberts may refer to: Arts and literature * David Roberts (painter) (1796–1864), Scottish painter * David Roberts (art collector), Scottish contemporary art collector * David Roberts (novelist), English editor and mystery writer ...
, or their actual equivalents located in Cairo. * Bird khayamiya, often associated with the
tree of life The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A History ...
, the
Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...
, or Pharaonic
tomb painting A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immuremen ...
* Musicians performing traditional Egyptian or
Nubian Nubian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Nubia, a region along the Nile river in Southern Egypt and northern Sudan. *Nubian people *Nubian languages *Anglo-Nubian goat, a breed of goat * Nubian ibex * , several ships of the Britis ...
musical instruments A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...
and dances. *
Calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
usually based on the Qur'an. * Pharaonic designs based on papyrus texts from the
Book of the Dead The ''Book of the Dead'' ( egy, 𓂋𓏤𓈒𓈒𓈒𓏌𓏤𓉐𓂋𓏏𓂻𓅓𓉔𓂋𓅱𓇳𓏤, ''rw n(y)w prt m hrw(w)'') is an ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom ...
and other ancient Egyptian art. * Commissioned including unique pieces made at the request of artists, designers, curators, and publishers. *Neo-Khedival panels inspired by the historic appliqués of the Khedival period (1867–1914). These started to emerge after 2014, following the publication of Khedival khayamiya in textile journals.


Gallery

File:The Tentmakers' Bazaar, Cairo. (1907) - TIMEA.jpg, The Street of the Tentmakers in Cairo as seen in 1907 by Walter S.S. Tyrwhitt File:The Fair, Moolid el Ahmadee (Maulid Ahmadi), Cairo. (1907) - TIMEA.jpg, Festival tents (for Maulid Ahmadi) in Cairo featuring khayamiya, as depicted by Reginald Barratt in 1907 File:Entrée de la rue du Caire. (1889) - TIMEA.jpg, Photograph of a street entrance in Cairo by Delort Gléon from 1889, showing the use of khayamiya as a street ornament File:Vernacular Khedival Khayamiya circa 1890s Photo by Jenny Bowker.jpg, A vernacular example of Khedival khayamiya, circa 1880–1900 File:Raising an Egyptian khayamiya tent at the 4th World Scout Jamboree in Budapest, Hungary in 1933.jpg, Egyptian scouts raising a decorated khayamiya tent at the 4th World Scout Jamboree in Budapest, Hungary in 1933 File:Touristic Khayamiya - Egyptian boatmen circa 1910-1925.jpg, Touristic khayamiya: Egyptian boatmen circa 1910–1925 File:Egyptian Khayamiya - a typical "Street Panel" design by the tentmakers of Cairo, circa 1970-2000..jpg, Egyptian khayamiya: a typical "street panel" design by the tentmakers of Cairo, circa 1970–2000


See also

*
Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, ...


References


Further reading

* *: describes the walk to the Tentmaker's Street from the Khan el-Khalili.


External links

{{Commons
Examples of tent cloth in the collection of The British MuseumPhotographs of Khayamiya in context in Cairo by Betty Wass, 1979-1983
University of Wisconsin database
The Tentmakers of Cairo
Pinterest Board maintained by Jenny Bowker.
Public Facebook Group
linked to a documentary film currently under development, "The Tentmakers of Chareh El Khiamiah".
Interview by Bonnie McCaffery (2011)
with Jenny Bowker and two of the Tentmakers of Cairo, Hossam and Tarek. Egyptian culture Textile arts of Africa Folk art Cairo Quilting